Pedro Salvidar
Pedro Diego Garcia Salvidar (born February 7, 2256) is an traveler and self-proclaimed conquistador from the Papal States, more specifically la Baronía de Santander Jimenez. A second son who feels frustration from not becoming Baron in his own right, Pedro wishes to establish a barony of his own on the frontier. Where this barony will be Pedro does not know and after leaving home at the age of twenty, he has wandered all over Mexico, looking for a place to call his own. Biography Early Life Pedro Salvidar was born in the the manor house of la Baronía de Santander Jimenez to Garcia Obregón Galindo Salvidar and Hermila María Emilio Salvidar on February 7, 2256. He grew as a toddler to be curious and bookish. A second son, Pedro was raised as a spare heir to his older brother Alfonso. This gave Pedro, even at a young age, a inferiority complex to most everyone. This led him to delve farther into his books. His parents were distant, what with managing the estate and all, and Pedro had few real friends in his childhood. These included his younger sister María, the estate's master of arms Julio Valdez, and his great uncle Octavio, who acted as an early father figure for little Pedro. Octavio, a veteran of the Saltlands War, encouraged Pedro's hobbies and gave Pedro any books that he could find. In 2267, Octavio died of liver failure from his drinking problems. By this time, Pedro's father Garcia was fed up with his son's "unhealthy" habits and decided to have him trained to be a worthy member of the Salvidar family. Soto La Marina Pedro, as the son of a prominent family, was sent to Soto La Marina to become a page under the service of of his cousin Hernando Salvidar, the regional cardinal for la Baronía de Santander Jimenez and was not allowed to return to his home. His parents initially hoped Pedro would become a priest. They were dead wrong. In Soto La Marina, Pedro was educated on the finer points of religion, diplomacy, and most importantly (to him at least) combat. Pedro seemed to have exchanged his books for a sword and gun, and performed well against other pages in duels in the courtyards of Soto La Marina. This began to make him arrogant and changed him from a shy bookish child to a fool hearty, arrogant teenager. Although he wanted to hide it, Pedro never truly lost his passion for books and continued to read at night in Soto La Marina's extensive libraries. There, he read books about Mexico before the war, from the hardy deserts of Chihuahua to the steaming jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Upon reading this, he wondered to himself: what must those places be like now? He was not compelled to visit those places at the time though, since he was after all still just a page. At one point, Pedro considered joining la Orden de los Caballeros del Escudo de Plata. However, he opted not to join, saying it would "tie him down" so to speak The Estate Lost In 2273, Pedro returned to la Baronía de Santander Jimenez a new man. He was the portrait of a knight, even having armor specially bought by his caretaker Hernando, as a kind of going away present. The barony Pedro returned to wash different place than he had left it. His father had contracted some type of disease from an unknown source (possibly veneral) and was dying. Pedro also returned to find that Alfonso, who he always remembered as "my mean older brother", had become a soft spoken aristocrat and now wore glasses for his eyesight. Feeling confused by all this, Pedro became even more angry when Alfonso talked down to him in front of the rest of the family at their first dinner together, setting the stage for an uneasy rivalry. This passive aggressiveness between the two lasted for the rest of Pedro's time in la Baronía de Santander Jimenez. Garcia Obregón Galindo Salvidar finally died on December 19, 2275, before Christmas. The bitterness between the Salvidar family became intense, as Alfonso would assumably be elected Baron the next year. By Christmas, Pedro had gotten fed up with his condescending brother and his family downplaying his achievements in Soto La Marina. But the last straw was having his sister María being announced to be having an arranged marriage to a fifty-plus year old Baron in the south on Christmas Day, which he felt was a dishonor to María. Alfonso actually had nothing to do with this as it was their father Garcia who had arranged the marriage. Nevertheless, this made Pedro do something drastic. The "election" for Baron was to be held in January, as was tradition. It was also tradition for the eldest Salvidar child to run unopposed. Pedro announced his candidacy for the title of Baron on New Year's Day, shocking the whole barony. It was unheard of for a younger child to be voted ahead of their inheritance, except in rare cases when children are involved. When Pedro announced it to the people, Alfonso sat calmly and watched. On the other hand, Hermila, the brothers' mother, flew into a rage and stormed off to resist the urge to strike her son. For the next few weeks or so, Pedro attempted to gain the large paisano vote through shows of valor and bravery. All he succeeded in doing was make a fool of himself. On January 31, the vote was in. Alfonso had won by a supermajority of 278-4. Pedro attempted to take it in stride but covertly, he was livid. So was the entire Salvidar family at his attempt at usurpation. With such a hostile atmosphere and nothing to show for it, Pedro decided that he must leave. When he announced this to the family, his cousin Raúl asked where would he go. In a fit of anger, Pedro shot back that he would establish his own barony "far away". No one took this seriously at first. But after a while, Pedro began to take this at heart. He catalogued supplies, bought ammunition, and said his goodbyes to the paisanos before going before his mother to ask for some men to accompany him on his journey. Seeing that Pedro was quite serious, Hermila refused to grant him any men at first. Neither did Alfonso. However, after Pedro went before his mother a second time and told her if she did not give him any men, he would leave regardless. A bit scared for her son's safety, Hermila gave Pedro a horse, an ass, some funds, and a paisano manservant, Lazlo. Thanking her, Pedro then immediately left la Baronía de Santander with his new assets, bound to do one last task in the Papal States. Dios, Oro, y Tierra! Before trekking out of his home, Pedro said goodbye to his sister Maria. From there, he went up the road to Soto la Marina for one reason: to seek the blessing of the Pope for his expedition. On February 20, 2276, Pedro and Lazlo arrived at Soto La Marina to get the Pope's blessing. Pedro's cousin, Hernando Salvidar, saw Pedro arrive and tried to greet him but was rebuffed as Pedro "had to see his Holiness for an urgent matter". Hernando, not in a bit curious about this, agreed to arrange a meeting. Later that day, Pedro entered the church to ask the Pope for his blessing. The Pope was there as promised and asked Pedro "what would you like to ask me, my child?". Pedro shivered a bit, then told him about his expedition and his goal of creating a barony somewhere in the Highlands. The Pope looked mildly surprised at this and asked about the logistics of the expedition. Pedro confessed that he had had not fully considered the logistical cost of creating a barony and confessed to his jealousy of his brother and the troubles at home. At that, the Pope smiled and told Pedro "you have a good heart" and agreed to bless Pedro's expedition. He was even given a Papal banner to hold on their expedition and plant where they wanted to. Then, after thanking the Pope, Pedro left. Wishing his cousin farewell and in high spirits, Pedro set out on the road to the Highlands, declaring "Dios, Oro, y Tierra!" (God, Gold, and Land), the three things that drove him. Moving west on the road, Pedro and Lazlo rode for a few days until they reached el Dominio de la Corriente Lenta, one of the larger realms of the Papal States. Duque Alberto Gallo was gone off to combat tribals, but his wife was still there. She saw the noble visitor and invited Pedro to stay for a while. Pedro was grateful for the hospitality and tried to just stay for the night but ended up staying for a week. Señora Gallo was very interested in Pedro's story and his journey. When he finally left, Pedro's supplies were restocked, and he was given a very warm goodbye. Continuing west, the party of two passed by la Baronía de los Campos Podrido and its vast pumpkin fields. Pedro asked Lazlo if he might pick a pumpkin from a patch as a souvenir, but Lazlo warned that the paisanos had a hard enough time without thieves taking their pumpkins. Pedro reluctantly but wisely agreed. Heading further down the road, Pedro stopped at la Baronía de la caña de Mare, perhaps the most western barony of the Papal States. From there on, the expedition would be crossing into unsafe territory. Mare's Shank was better than Pedro had expected. It was a group of concrete building huddled around the Abaroas' mansion and a cement plant. The Baron, the always austere Tuco Abaroa VI, did not greet Pedro in person and Pedro decided to stay at the inn instead of testing the Baron's infamous hospitality. Inside the inn, Pedro and Lazlo took out a map and planned out their next move. They decided to continue moving west, into the Highlands. From there, they would look for a proper location to make a barony. Into the Highlands Pedro and Lazlo filled their saddlebags at la Baronía de la caña de Mare's inn and mounted up. Riding west, they began to see the Sierra Madres of the Highlands in the distance. On his journey west, Pedro encountered many farmers tilling their fields in the shadow of the mountains. Pedro stopped to talk to some these farmers, but when he asked them about the Highlands, they only responded with vague warnings and gave no information about locations. This greatly frustrated Pedro, and he cursed at several of the farmers. Remarkably enough, all they did was shake their heads and remain tight-lipped. Soon after that, Pedro and a reluctant Lazlo rode further west, finally entered the Highlands on March 22, 2276. A rough, forbidding place, Pedro was nervous already. Riding down the gravel path, Pedro and Lazlo were confronted by an old ghoul, who screamed for them to leave or suffer a horrible fate. Pedro waved off the ghoul's warnings, saying that he was doing the work of God. With that, the ghoul told them that God could not save them from this place and ran off. It was then was then that Pedro ordered Lazlo to hold up the Papal banner to ward off any demons or evil spirits. Lazlo was at first reluctant to do it, but after some encouragement relented and held up the banner. All we need to do is find a nice fertile valley, and I have my barony. I'll even make you the steward Lazlo, if you want to. Personality Pedro Salvidor has a obnoxiously arrogant and condescending attitude at most times, as he has convinced that his mission is from God and for him alone. However, Pedro also has a crippling inferiority complex from his earlier days in la Baronía de Santander Jimenez. This is often exploited by his enemies. At times, Pedro can also be quite heroic, holding up his chivalric attitudes. Pedro also treats his paisano servant Lazlo quite well when he is not making him be the the pack mule of the expedition. Although many would not believe it, Pedro also has a wealth of information of the pre-War world stemming from his constant reading. Although it is sometimes outdated, the information often serves Pedro well on his journeys. Appearance Pedro Salvidar looks the part of a Spanish conquistador, with a full beard and long, flowing hair. Pedro possesses much fine clothing that he brings from the Papal States. In battle, he wears specially made armor. Equipment Pedro hauls most his supplies by using his manservant, Lazlo, as a pack mule. Pedro carries one of his sabers on his person at all times and prefers melee combat to ranged, feeling it to be more honorable. Also, Pedro keeps on his homemade armor for protection when he is on the road. However, Pedro is not above using guns and keeps a Smith & Wesson .32 pistol in his holster, just in case. Pedro keeps most of his equipment and supplies in a saddle-bag.